Chandigarh, June 7 : To create awareness on ‘World Brain Tumor Day’ a Team of Doctors from Ivy Hospital Mohali addressed the media today. Present on the occasion were Dr Vineet Saggar Director Neurosurgery &NeuroIntervention, Dr Jaspreet Singh Randhwa, Consultant Neuro Surgery, Dr Swati Garg Consultant Neurology & Pardeep Kumar Sharma Consultant Neurology from Ivy Hospital Mohali.
Addressing the media, Dr. Vineet Saggar said, “June 8th is celebrated as world Brain tumor day. This day was initiated by German Brain tumor Association in the year 2000 with the aim to spread awareness about this lethal disease. Several researches have been going on for the treatment of Brain tumors. Brain tumors are devastating lesions that affect the nerve centre of the body. All our functions, from eating to speaking to walking etc, and all our emotions, from love to hate, are controlled by the brain, the spinal cord and nerves that are intimately connected. The brain is housed in a rigid shell (skull) and body maintains a rather homogenous atmosphere, air conditioned & shock proof, inside the skull. Abnormal growth of tissues inside the skull leads to the formation of a “tumor” which causes local destruction and pressure on surrounding normal tissues.” Unlike the widespread defeatist perception about brain tumor, many patients of the disease can be cured with current advances in technology and early detection, doctors said on the World Brain Tumor Day.
Dr Vineet Saggar also shared that Neuro Navigation has now days become a preferred choice for all kind of complex Neuro Surgeries. Neuronavigational has gained popularity 4-5 years, becoming a highly effective tool during surgery. Spinal and brain surgeries are challenging due to limited surgical exposure and the delicate nature of involved tissues. Neuronavigation has been shown to increase the accuracy with which surgeons can perform such delicate procedures. Tumor resections in the brain and pedicle-screw placement in the spinal column are two examples that require millimeter precision. Neuronavigation is a tool that provides numerous advantages to the neurosurgeon like more accurate planning approach, ability to use smaller approaches, higher precision for intraoperative localization of different anatomical structures and offering greater surgical safety.
Sharing his view Dr Jaspreet Randhawa said, “These tumors can be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-malignant). Malignant brain tumors, mostly, arise from brain matter (intrinsic) and can only be controlled for variable periods of time – after using all the various modalities of treatment available (surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy). But they differ from cancers of rest of body in that they do not metastasize (i.e. spread to other parts of body). Benign tumors, on the other hand, originate mostly from structures around the brain (extrinsic). They can be successfully removed surgically and, once removed totally, they mostly do not recur. Some of them can be effectively treated by using stereotactically directed radiotherapy especially when diagnosed early when the tumor size is small.
On this occasion Dr Pradeep Sharma said that, “Brain tumors account for about 2 % of all cancers. Around 500 new cases of brain tumors are diagnosed every day worldwide and most of them are not inheritable. Brain tumors can occur at all ages – from infant to ripe old age. As of now no definite cause has been found for their origin. Therefore, there are no such specific preventive measures that can be taken.”
Some common symptoms that people experience are headaches (typically worst in early mornings), vomiting, seizures, weakness of one or the other part of the body, difficulty in seeing or hearing or understanding.
Sharing her views Dr Swati Garg said that “The treatment of brain tumors consists of removal of the tumor (for reducing pressure on normal structures as early as possible, and to obtain definite biopsy of the lesion for characterization and prognostication), followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy for malignant lesions only. Safe execution of surgery demands that the surgeon has as much specific knowledge as possible before operation. MRI, with special sequences which permit visualization of functional areas (fMRI) &fibre tracts (TDI images) is extremely useful for obtaining this information. This permits the surgeon to chart a safe course to the tumor.
Dr. Pradeep Sharma also shared that, “The incidence and prevalence of brain tumor is growing rapidly in India. Every year 40,000 to 50,000 people are diagnosed with brain tumour which reduces life expectancy by 20 years. These statistics are shocking. Brain tumors can be, and are often, operated upon while awake so that they can assist the surgeon by moving a part of the body or speaking during surgery.”
